Former Minister Annette Ferguson has sounded a strong warning to the People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR), stressing that unless deep-rooted challenges within the party are urgently addressed, it risks further decline and eventual political irrelevance.
In a letter to the media, Ferguson pointed to the wave of resignations and defections that have hit the party since 2020, and again following the 2023 and 2025 General and Regional Elections (GRE), describing them as “unprecedented in our history.”
She noted that while former Leader David Granger successfully guided the party and its partners under the A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) banner in 2011, and later through the Cummingsburg Accord with the Alliance For Change (AFC) in 2015, the PNCR has since struggled to maintain cohesion.
According to Ferguson, the Coalition Government under Granger achieved significant gains without oil revenues, including salary increases of up to 77 percent for some categories of public servants and the reduction of VAT to 14 percent. She argued that it was “unjustifiable” to place blame on Granger for APNU’s 2025 loss, since he demitted leadership in July 2021.
Ferguson recalled that at the 20th Biennial Delegates Congress in December 2021, Aubrey Norton was elected Leader, and again returned unopposed at the 21st Congress in June 2024 despite lingering grievances from his challengers. She said that as the 2025 elections approached, efforts were made to forge another coalition, but the failure to unite paved the way for the PPP/C’s return to office and the rise of the Working People’s Independent Network (WIN).
Now, three weeks after the elections, Ferguson said calls are intensifying for Norton to step aside and for a Special Congress to be convened to elect interim leadership ahead of the 2026 Biennial Delegates Congress. “If this is not addressed, the hemorrhaging of members will continue, weakening the PNCR further ahead of 2026,” she cautioned.
The former Minister outlined several immediate steps to rescue the party, including strict adherence to the PNCR’s Constitution, strengthening constituency engagement, rebuilding confidence in leadership through transparency and accountability, prioritizing youth and women’s involvement, and reopening coalition-building talks.
“The PNCR remains a mass-based political organization, but it must modernize, unite, and mobilize if it is to survive and lead again. Guyana needs a strong and credible opposition, and the PNCR must rise to that responsibility,” Ferguson stated.
